The present invention relates to an area for accommodating a domestic animal (see also documents DE 19903953 or NL1014979) which is arranged to receive the excretions thereof and which includes an animal waste discharge pipe leading into a human waste discharge pipe placed between an area for accommodating humans, which is arranged to receive the excretions of the latter, and a sewage discharge pipe line, the said area for accommodating a domestic animal further including a rotatable sealing device having a first position for enabling the receiving of the said animal excretions, and a second position for enabling the discharge of the said animal excretions (see also document U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,574).
Such a device is known for example from the document WO2010/146611, which describes a sanitation device that combines a toilet system for human use with an animal litter box unit. The area containing the animal litter box unit is connected to the said human toilet system in order to ensure the discharge of animal excretions by means of the existing discharge system of the human toilet. According to a preferred embodiment described in this document, the litter box unit is contained in an area designed to accommodate the domestic animal and which is connected to an animal waste discharge pipe leading into the discharge outlet pipe of the human toilet which is itself connected to a sewage discharge pipe line.
Unfortunately, such a sanitation device requires the intervention of the owner of the domestic animal because once the animal has attended to its biological needs, it is not only necessary to activate a flush manually in order to discharge the soiled litter but also to replace the litter. Moreover, the activation of the flush results in the flushing out of the entire area for accommodating the animal, which is not suitable in view of ensuring the provision of fresh clean and dry litter. The user must thus wait for the animal accommodation area to completely dry out or wipe it off prior to placing the new litter therein. Such a device may also prove to be somewhat of a safety hazard for the domestic animal, which could for example get a paw stuck in the opening of the animal waste discharge pipe which is covered only by a layer of litter. If the domestic animal were to encounter and experience such a situation, it is reasonable to assume that it would be longer be inclined to use the sanitation device again. Moreover, such a device does not provide any means of ensuring that the litter is securely maintained in the animal accommodation area, thus the litter could run into the animal waste discharge pipe even before being used. Only a small pipe diameter on the animal waste discharge pipe makes it possible to limit the run of unused litter into the drainage pipes and provides the ability to minimise the risks (hazards) for the domestic animal. However, the smaller that the diameter of the animal waste discharge pipe is, the greater would be the risk of formation of blockages and clogging in this very pipe. Indeed, if the pipe were to have a small diameter, the litter material, usually marketed in the form of wood shavings and made sticky by the animal excretions would have a tendency to stick to the walls of the pipes, which would result in blockages and, as a consequence thereof, cause fairly significant discharge related problems.
In order to at least partially resolve these problems, provision is made according to the invention, for an area for accommodating a domestic animal as indicated at the beginning of this description, characterised by the fact that the said rotatable sealing device separates and isolates the said area for accommodating a domestic animal from the said animal waste discharge pipe.
An area for accommodating an animal that includes such a rotatable sealing device, which separates and isolates the said area for accommodating an animal, from the said animal waste discharge pipe is free of risk for the domestic animal since the said device prevents entry or contact with the animal waste discharge pipe. This rotatable sealing device also makes it possible to use an animal waste discharge pipe having any diameter since it is isolated from the said area for accommodating an animal. This is particularly advantageous for ensuring optimum discharge of excretions, in which respect, the larger that the diameter of the animal waste discharge pipe is, the less readily would the excretions adhere to the walls of this very pipe. The problems of blockages mentioned above may thus be easily avoided. On the other hand, the presence of a rotatable sealing device minimises the incidence of odours from the said animal waste discharge pipe being carried up to the said area for accommodating an animal, which contributes to optimal hygiene conditions.